Nairobi

American  

[nahy-roh-bee] / naɪˈroʊ bi /

noun

1. a city in and the capital of Kenya, in the SW part.

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Nairobi British  

/ naɪˈrəʊbɪ /

noun

1. the capital of Kenya, in the southwest, at an altitude of 1650 m (5500 ft): founded in 1899; became capital in 1905; commercial and industrial centre; the Nairobi National Park (a game reserve) is nearby. Pop: 2 818 000 (2005 est)

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Nairobi Cultural  

1. Capital of Kenya and largest city in the country, located in southern Kenya.

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Discover More

Nairobi is a center for tourist safaris.

It was the capital of British East Africa — Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, and Zanzibar (see Tanzania) — from 1905 until the colonies became independent in the early 1960s.

Example Sentences

After being rescued, the baby hippo spent its first night at a nursery in the capital Nairobi, being fed on milk and swaddled in a blanket.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

Luis Tato, from Agence France-Presse's Nairobi bureau, won a prize in the Africa Stories category for his coverage of the 2025 "Gen Z uprisings" in Madagascar.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

In February last year, Antoine Kassis checked into the Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club, a Victorian-style resort an hour north of Nairobi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Police said his vehicle was found abandoned with its hazard lights on along a road in Karen, an upmarket suburb of the capital, Nairobi.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

Their marriage was brief and confusing—especially given that her new husband, it turned out, already had a wife in Nairobi.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama